Weekend Vid Picks: The Oscars

It’s the Super Bowl for wannabe Pauline Kaels and Mr. Blackwells, when every frustrated film student and amateur thespian sharpens their witty bon mots to a gleaming edge. It’s the 2008 Academy Awards ceremony! And as ultimately pointless and bloatedly self-indulgent as the Hollywood royalty on display may be, that the show was almost derailed by the Writers’ Guild strike makes it a must-see, if only for Jon Stewart’s jokes about said labor unrest — not to mention which of the two Democratic presidential nominees pull the most star endorsements.

What could we have expected from an actor-free event? More dance numbers and clip montages! Who still isn’t coming, picket line or no picket line? Fidel Castro! OK, enough with the politics. We all know what the red carpet is really about — fashion. Though I’m a little disappointed that this 2008 fashion preview doesn’t feature menswear, so I don’t know exactly how behind the times my thrift-store Barney’s tux has become.